While the majority of land records for the Baker family are found in the Abstract Index Books for East Flamborough, there are references to them in the Waterdown books. Abraham Baker (1822-1897), the eldest of the Bakersville brothers, who had first moved to the 9th Concession after selling his share of the family property, moved to Waterdown and was listed as the proprietor of the Crown Inn on Dundas Street in the 1865-66 Directory for Wentworth County. On Jan. 4, 1866, Abraham paid $100 for a small parcel of land fronting onto Dundas Street, “on the east side of Reynolds Street” and retaining ownership into the 1880s.
Searching at the Flamborough Archives for references to Abraham Baker, the story of the attempted murder by his son-in-law Dr. Albert Walker at the Crown Inn appeared in the June 1, 1876 edition of the Dundas True Banner. On the previous day, the paper reported that Dr. Walker, the well-known area dentist, had shot his wife Mary Jane Baker and then committed suicide. The article, containing snippets of village gossip, outlined the story leading up to the shooting and the events that followed. Stating that the couple’s “domestic life had been most unhappy, as after a year of marriage, another woman had claimed Walker as her husband,” causing in great bitterness between the two.
The confrontation began with an argument initiated by Mrs. Walker that her husband still had another wife somewhere. He drew a Smith & Wesson revolver and fired two shots, both bullets hitting his wife in the upper body.
Not seriously injured, Mary Jane left the room, screaming for help. As soon as his wife disappeared, Dr. Walker shot himself twice and died almost instantly Drs. Philp and McGregor were called to the inn. They pronounced Albert Walker dead and deemed it unnecessary to hold a post mortem examination.
Whether Albert Walker really had another wife was never proven. Following the incident, Dr. William Philp, the coroner, summoned a jury and met at the Crown Inn to listen to the testimony of Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Louisa Baker, mother of Mary Jane Walker, and village inhabitants who were in the inn at the time of the shooting. Among the jury was John Baker of Bakersville and uncle of the victim. The article concluded with the news that “Mrs. Walker was progressing favourably under the care of Dr. Philp, who has strong hopes of her speedy recovery.”
Sylvia Wray is the former archivist with the Flamborough Archives. She can be reached through the Archives at archives@flamboroughhistory.com.
This article was originally published in the Flamborough Review, 11 December 2014.
